AIR TRANSPORT
Lauda and Kenya eye heavy 767
GUY NORRIS/LOS ANGELES
BOEING IS ON the verge of launching the 767-400ERX
after an initial order for three
"enhanced" -400ERs from Kenya
Airways and the prospect of a cru
cial win in Austria where it is bat
tling head to head with Airbus over
a potential Lauda Air order.
The Lauda Air contest is for
about eight aircraft and pitches the
proposed high gross weight ver
sion of the Boeing twin against the
Airbus A3 30-200. Lauda Air oper
ates an all-Boeing large-jet fleet
that includes two 767-300ERs and
two 777-200ERs. Its A330/767
requirement is thought to include
aircraft for its Italian subsidiary,
which has four 767-300ERs.
Kenya Airways, which ordered
two Boeing 73 7-700s as part of the
767 deal, decided last month to
replace its Airbus A310 fleet with
three 221 -seat 767-300ERs (Flight
International, 8-14 February),
NEWS IN BRIEF
• FREQUENCY PROTECTION
An industry-wide group
comprising airlines, airports,
pilots, air traffic controllers
and regulatory bodies has
formed a coalition and
finalised an industry position
designed to protect aviation's
essential radio frequencies,
in preparation for the Inter
national Telecommunication
Union World Radio-
communication Conference
in May. Meeting in London
on 9-10 March, industry
associations, including the
International Air Transport
Association and the Inter
national Civil Aviation Or
ganisation, initiated a long-
term action plan to protect
radio frequencies which are
vital for aeronautical com
munications and satellite
navigation. Mobile satellite
communication operators
are eyeing aeronautical fre
quencies (Flight Inter
national, 22-28 February).
beginning this year. Deliveries of
the 2 59-seat -400ERs are expected
to start in May 2004, while the first
737-700s are to be handed over in
December 2002.
Boeing says that "the -400ERX
is still in product development"
and will only be formally launched
"when market demand warrants
it". It admits, however, that the air
craft ordered by Kenya Airways "is
the-400ERX".
The main new feature of the
-ERX is greater range and payload,
achieved through increased gross
weight and the activation of space
in the horizontal tail for additional
fuel. This boosts range by about
Boeing hopes the 767-400ERXwill head off the A3 30-200 at Lauda Air
1,110km (600nm) to 12,025km.
General Electric, which to date
has become the de facto sole-
source supplier to the -400ER pro
gramme, says: "We have not talked
to Boeing to define the engine
requirements. That is being
worked out. We are evaluating
whether it should be a derivative
[CF6-80C2B7F/ B8F], or a G2."
The basic -B7F/B8F options on
the current -400ER are rated at
62,000-63,3001b (276-282kN)
thrust respectively. New deriva
tives, grouped around the G2 con
cept, have been under study to
provide between 65,0001b and
68,0001b thrust for the higher gross
weight -400ERX version.
The enhanced -400ER could
breathe new life into the G2 study,
which was quietly shelved last year
amid Boeing's continuing indeci
sion over the future of the
-400ERX and the 747-400X, at
which the GE study engine was
also aimed. J
747 acquisitions bring
Mofaz venture closer
MALAYSIA'S Mofaz Group is close to finalising the acqui
sition ofthree ex-Air India Boeing
747-200s. It aims to set up a joint
venture - either to lease the air
craft out, or to operate passenger
charter flights.
According to Ahmad Tifli, chief
operating officer of the group's avi
ation division, Kuala Lumpur-
based Mofaz will know by the end
of the month whether die acquisi
tion will go ahead. "At this
point...our plans are not finalised,"
he says.
Tifli says Mofaz has teamed with
an unnamed foreign company
which will become its joint venture
partner. He adds that Mofaz's com
mercial flight subsidiary, Mofaz
Air, will be the major partner in the
new venture. Tifli declines to name
the destinations under considera
tion by Mofaz if it decides to opt for
charter operations.
The aircraft are on their way to
the Garuda Maintenance Facility
(GMF) in Jakarta, Indonesia, for
life-extension work on the engine
pylons, as well as other work,
reports Flight Internationals sister
on-line news service Air Transport
Intelligence.
GMF says pylon modifications
will be carried out on two of the
aircraft and a Section 41
Airworthiness Directive will be
undertaken on the third.
Mofaz's aviation subsidiaries
used to operate passenger and
cargo charter flights through
Mofaz Air, as well as conducting
pilot training at the Mofaz Air
Flight Academy and offering engi
neering and logistics services at
Mofaz FBO. Tifli says that some of
Mofaz's businesses were closed
down as a result of the Asia's eco
nomic troubles, but Mofaz Air still
operates helicopter charters. •
FAA to push TCASII
for US freighters
THE US FEDERAL Aviation Administration plans to
release later this year a draft notice
of proposed rulemaking (NPRM)
that calls for the latest traffic-alert
and collision-avoidance systems
(TCAS II) to be installed in US-
registered freighters.
The mandate for TCAS II
equipment is expected to draw fire
from the US cargo airlines, includ
ing UPS, which has started to
equip its 229 freighters with auto
matic dependent surveillance-
broadcast (ADS-B) systems.
Large passenger aircraft operat
ed in LIS airspace must since 1987
have first-generation TCAS, but
freighters have been exempt. The
US Cargo Airlines Association has
pushed for ADS-B, which will have
collision-avoidance functionality,
as an alternative.
The US National Transport
ation Safety Board says ADS-B
cannot perform to TCAS stan
dards and will take too long to
implement. Q
FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 14 - 20 March 2000